Should I add flour to dough if I already weighed the amount?

Question

I am using this recipe for pizza dough, and I received some seasoned advice from other members of this site to use a precise kitchen scale for weighing the flour and water. The question is, if I already precisely measured for weight ie 1LB flour and 11 oz water - do I forgo following the direction to add more flour as needed?

As you knead, add more flour or water as needed to produce a ball of dough that is smooth, supple, and fairly tacky but not sticky.

Asked by dpollitt

Answer

Once you have learned to recognize good dough consistency by feel, you might decide to add more flour. This is because even when you weigh, your texture can be influenced by small changes in the gluten content in your brand and batch of flour (it is a natural product after all, and the difference between 11 and 11.5% is already noticeable) and by the humidity of your storage room. Before you have learned to recognize the perfect texture by feel, only use additional flour to prevent sticking to utensils, unless it feels terribly wet and flows everywhere (but then you probably measured wrong).

Answered by rumtscho

Check more discussion of this question.